Chocolate Tiramisu-Chocolate with Francois-Triple T Week

I should have titled this Triple T-Tiramisu, Tears and Taxes.  It's been that kind of week-and I've been gone from my blog for too long.  Time this week has been spent making the tiramisu, getting my taxes together (yes I always wait until the last minute) and getting ready for my last day at Victoria Clipper. 

Well as you can see I finished the Tiramisu and it's delicious.  I was a little hesitant since it doesn't contain the addition of any type of alcohol like most tiramisu does. But I found I didn't miss the alcohol, and the espresso  enhanced the ganache and chocolate cake even more. I'm always hesitant in starting out with Francois Payard's recipes-a lot of them tend to be multiple steps (as this one is) and a little complicated.  I knew I didn't want to make a quart size dish of Tiramisu so I made individual portions in muffin tins-kind of like cupcakes but not exactly.

 The mousse in this is to die for-really-it is one of those things that you taste, then taste again and again and decide you better quit tasting or there won't be any left for the recipe itself.  It is definitely a mousse recipe I will keep with my "favorite recipes".

Instead of making a 10 x 15" cake I scooped equal portions of the cake batter into greased and floured 12 regular size muffin tins. I had some batter left over so I filled 12 regular size cupcake papers half way with the rest of the batter. I'll tell you why I did that in a bit. I watched the baking time carefully and in my oven it took 10 minutes to get to the "top springs back when touched" doneness.

After cooling I took the individual "muffin" cakes and cut them in half horizontally. I then took a dozen of the giant muffin paper cup liners and filled them with a scoop of mousse .  I took the bottom half of the "muffin" cakes and pressed it into the mousse.  Next I soaked each piece of cake with espresso using a pastry brush. After that was done I carefully spread the ganache over the cake about 1/4 inch thick (this is where I think I erred-ganache too thick for the size of the cake-still yummy though). Then another scoop of mousse over the ganache, pressed the top cut half of the "muffin" cake into that,again soaked it with espresso,and topped it with ganache.

 Remember those half filled cupcake holders of cake batter-they made the perfect topping for what I already had put together. I set one on top of each cake and sprinkled everything with cocoa powder. Yes I know Chef Payard's recipes have more than enough steps in them, why add to it?  Because I wanted individual servings that I could take to work ! And they loved them at work. It was my little goodbye gift to my friends.

So the tiramisu was  a hit, my taxes are done and I don't owe money. That's always a plus and the final T in my Triple T week was saying good bye to friends that I have made over the last 2 years.  It was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated when today came.  I knew I would be sad to say good bye but I didn't know it would be such an overwhelming experience.  I've been so excited over my new venture that I really thought it wouldn't be difficult to leave. Yes it was great fun doing what I did and I loved it and I thought because I was leaving to do something that has been a passion for me that saying goodbye wouldn't be so hard. I was so wrong, saying goodbye to people who made me laugh, who shared their hearts with me, who made me feel so special was so much more difficult than I thought it would be.  I will miss them and  I know we will stay in touch and I hope to see their smiling faces when the bakery opens in May. It still doesn't take away the sadness, so tonight I'll sit quietly and reminisce over my friendships and be grateful for what they have brought to my life and hope in some way I too have brought something to theirs.

So if you want to make something special here is the recipe for the Chocolate Tiramisu.  All of my fellow bloggers will be posting their results with this recipe over at Chocolate with Francois , so stop by and see their results-Bon Appetit.

Ingredients:
Chocolate Mascarpone Ganache
9 ounces (250 grams) 64% chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons (100 grams) mascarpone at room temperature
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (100 grams) heavy cream

Chocolate Cake
1 cup (100 grams) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (32 grams) Dutch processed cocoa powder
6 large egg yolks
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
6 large egg whites

Mascarpone Mousse
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (130grams) sugar
3 large egg whites
2 cups ( 500 grams) mascarpone, at room temperature
1 tablespoon ( 12 grams ) heavy cream

Assembly
3/4 cup (180 grams) strong coffee
3 tablespoons (18grams) Dutch processed cocoa powder

Make the Ganache:
Put the chocolate and mascarpone in a medium bowl and set aside.
Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.    Remove from the heat, and pour it over the chocolate and mascarpone.  Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Transfer the ganache to a bowl, and refrigerate until it thickens to an icing like consistency, 30-60 minutes.  Stir it every 15 minutes to speed up the process.  You can make the ganache 1 day ahead, but you will have to warm it slightly in a microwave or over a double boiler before using so that it has a pipe able consistency.
Make the Cake: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F.  Line a 10x15 inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder together over a bowl or a piece of wax paper.  Set aside.
Combine the egg yolks and 1/2 cup (100 grams) of the sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the mixture turns a very pale yellow and doubles in volume.  (If you own two electric mixer bowls, you can whip the yolks in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment)
Put the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on medium-high speed.  Once the whites start holding soft peaks, gradually sprinkle the remaining  1/2 cup ( 100 grams ) sugar over them, and continue beating until they hold peaks.
With a silicone spatula, fold the whipped yolks into the meringue, and then fold in the dry ingredients.  Spread the batter in the prepared sheet, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cake springs back when you gently press the palm of your hand on it.  Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the baking sheet.
Make the mascarpone mousse: Fill a medium pot one-third full with water and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat.  Put the egg yolks and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 grams) sugar in a bowl that will fit snugly on top of the pot but not touch the water.  Reduce the heat to low and place the bowl over the pot.  Whisk until the mixture is very hot and starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat, and continue whisking until the mixture cools.
Put the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whip on medium-high speed, gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup ( 50 grams ) sugar, until the whites hold stiff peaks.
Put the mascarpone in a large bowl, and whisk in the cream to soften it.  With a silicone spatula, fold half of the yolk mixture into the mascarpone, and then fold in the second half.  Fold the meringue into the mixture.
Assemble the dessert: You will need a 1 quart or 1 1/2 quart bowl or dish.  With a knife, cut 2 rounds out of the cake; one a little smaller than the base of the bowl, the other a little smaller than the widest part of the bowl.
Spoon about 1 cup of the mousse into the bowl, then place the smallest of the cake rounds over the mousse and press it down gently so that it spreads the mousse.  Spoon one third of the coffee evenly over the cake.
Spoon a 1/4 inch thick layer of ganache over the cake, then a 1/2 inch thick layer of mousse over the ganache.  Press the larger cake round over the mousse, pressing it down slightly to even out all the layers below it.
Spoon the remaining coffee evenly over the cake.
Spoon another 1/4 inch thick layer of ganache over the cake, and then spoon the remaining mousse over it.  With a silicone spatula, slightly smooth the top of the mousse to make it even and flat.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve or for up to 2 days.
Remove the tiramisu from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving, to bring it to room temperature.  This will prevent the ganache from being too firm.  Sift the cocoa powder directly over the top of the tiramisu.

Charlies Chocolate Pudding Cake-Chocolate with Francois

I can't believe I almost didn't bake this cake this month.  I really would have missed an outlandish recipe and one of the most delicious and amazing chocolate cakes ever.  I'm so glad that little baker voice cheered me on to try this recipe.  And thank you to Peggy at Pantry Revisited who selected this month's recipe for our Chocolate with Francois baking group.  After coming off the complicated and marathon baking session with the Malted Crispie Tart I wanted something simple and Francois Payard's recipes are usually not so simple. But I read the recipe anyway and discovered how quickly I could make it.

  The most time consuming part is chilling it in the freezer for at least 45 minutes.  The only mistake I made was that I didn't pay attention to my ganache and it wasn't as warm as it should have been when I added the butter to it so  I had a few little bubbles of butter when I poured the ganache over the cake. Shame on me-but that's how we learn.  Head over to Peggy's blog to get the recipe and make this cake. Strangers will pledge their love to you once they taste it; neighbors will not stop knocking at your door for another slice and co-workers will be asking daily when are you going to make that chocolate pudding cake again ?

Head over to Chocolate with Francois and see what everyone else did. And really, bake this cake it's crazy incredible. It's rich and smooth and creamy and decadent.  I used bittersweet chocolate for the cake and the ganache and I'm glad I did-it took that "too sweet" edge off of it and gave it an elegant taste.  It's especially good with a little dollop of whipped cream on the side. Bon Appetit.

Chocolate Pecan Tart-Chocolate with Francois

Susan over at Baking with Susan selected this month's recipe for our Chocolate with Francois group.  Francois Payard's recipes never seem simple or uncomplicated but this one actually surprised me. 

Candy the pecans, make the tart dough , make the filling and assemble -could this really be one of his recipes or an impostor ?  As I write this, my tart is about 10 minutes from being finished and it looks delicious.  Nothing blowing up, nothing drying out-really this must be an impostor recipe, it was just too simple !  It's like a French version of pecan pie but with chocolate and a sweet tart crust.

This recipe has shocked me, really.  I love his cookbook and I love the results of his recipes, but with a great deal of his recipes you must work, work , and work to get to the end results. And sometimes the results barely resemble his photos in the book.  But that's due to my inexperience I suppose, because no matter how they end up looking they always end up tasting wonderful. Guess I will have to work on my technique.

 If you want to tackle one of these, and I suggest you do, head over to Susan's blog for the recipe. And it really is a simple uncomplicated recipe.  J walked by the oven when I went to check the progress of my tart and said "Is that pecan and chocolate "? with such a sense of urgency and desire I thought I would have to post a sentry at the oven to protect my tart until it was finished !
It's beautiful to look at when it's finished baking-anyone would be ecstatic if you showed up with this as dessert. 

And the taste is divine, imagine pecan pie with a light sweet crust and milk chocolate melted in with the sugared pecans. You get that sweet stickiness of a pecan pie with the smooth chocolaty taste.  Susan added some espresso powder to her filling-I wish I would have thought of that.  I imagine it really enhanced the flavor of the chocolate.  Seriously, you should try this recipe-it's absolutely delicious and hard to eat just one piece.  Bon Appetit.

Chocolate Coconut Rochers-Blogger Catch up !

It's five days after Thanksgiving and I'm still surrounded by the holiday glow and love from family and friends.  Come to think of it I'm always enveloped by that love-it's my awareness of it that becomes heightened by the holidays. Resolve-to remind myself daily of how fortunate and blessed I am and how thankful I am for family and friends and their love and support.

I had to celebrate the official Thanksgiving meal on Saturday, the 28th  this year.  Fortunately I have a family that understands my work schedule-I had to work on Thanksgiving-you know -the travel industry is pretty much round the clock and the boat had to get to Victoria, BC.  But it's not a date on the calendar that dictates when to give thanks, it's what is in our hearts every single day of the year. And I will say it again, I am thankful for the love of my sweetie, my sister and dear brother and brother in law and all the people who touch my life with love and support.  We had a lovely celebration at my sister's house.  The meal was delicious , as it always is.  Turkey being the centerpiece-what a surprise.  We had an incredible crab dip and beef empanadas made by my talented sister.  A huge selection of fresh baked breads brought by my brother, stuffing, sweet sweet sweet potato gratin (hey sis email me the recipe), tart cranberries, and the list goes on. Oh and by the way, the Larger than Life Pecan Praline cheesecake was a hit-this is what was left of it.  Thanks to Rebecca Rather , The Pastry Queen for such a scrumptious recipe.

Spiced pumpkin cheesecake on a gingersnap crust, topped with Pecan Praline

 I'm very grateful that we were all in a position to put this food on the table and share with each other and friends .  Did you see the NY Times photo display from around the world-it's kind of reassuring to see , that no matter who we are or where we are, we are all grateful and thankful , and celebrating in a similar way.

This month has been hectic for me, besides having to work the holiday I'm embarrassed that I haven't kept up with my blogging. I missed my Daring Bakers challenge , hosted by Simona of briciole . I also missed my MacTweets challenge this month.  I feel like such a bad blogger.  I will make the deadline for my Chocolate with Francois group-with this posting.  And I resolve to do much better next month.  I am proud of what I did do this month-participated in the Will Bake for Food Bake Sale-a rousing success. And I kicked off a new baking group (yes I can hear you-what she can't keep up with the groups she belongs to and she started a new one !) Baked Sunday Mornings , and I completed one of the four recipes for French Fridays with Dorie.  So I'm not a horrible blogging community member-but I will work on my planning skills for December and promise to do better!

Now that all my excuses are out of the way, I give you my entry for this month's Chocolate with Francois.  Joanne at Apple Crumbles is the hostess with the mostest this month and chose Francois's Chocolate Coconut Rochers . Thank goodness this was not a complicated recipe. The most challenging thing was finding the unsweetened coconut.  The photos in the book for this recipe look all warm and brown and toasty-I'm not sure what type of cocoa (or camera filter) was used to make them look like that, but mine did not have that lovely tawny glow.  They did have an excellent, addictive taste. They reminded me of a candy I grew up with in Pennsylvania-The Mallo Cup. After  you sucked out all the creamy marshmallow inside a Mallo Cup you had a  crunchy coconut chocolate shell.  When I bit into these and I was 12 years old again with my favorite candy bar.

Try the recipe (of course you have to buy the book-Chocolate Epiphany -to find the recipe),or head over to Joanne's blog to find it there.  And since it's getting close to the holidays- these would make a lovely little Christmas food gift for neighbors. Bon Appetit !

Chocolate Honey Madeleines-Chocolate with Francois

Nothing like a good cup of espresso with a Chocolate Honey Madeline to transport me back to a little cafe on the streets of Paris. I'm a romantic at heart so it usually doesn't take much to transport me to Paris-the smell of French Onion Soup, a plate of perfect frites, pastry of any type, hot chocolate as rich as Angelina's, or a sweet little Madeline. I have never made chocolate madeleines-I prefer the simplicity of the original. However, Francois Payard does have a way of changing my mind. Julie from A Little Bit of Everything selected this month's Chocolate with Francois recipe-Chocolate Honey Madeleines. They have a hint of orange zest-mine had a hint of lemon zest ! I never know what to expect with his recipes. They are easy to follow but the results vary-you really have to follow them to the very letter-as with anything in baking. But I suspect his years of experience give him that little extra magic that results in perfection each time he bakes.

 I was very happy with my results. They have the little mound that rose in the center and very few pin holes from air bubbles when I turned them out of the pan. And the taste was just slightly chocolaty with a hint of lemon.The honey was lost in the batter. Next time I will let the batter reach room temperature before attempting to pipe it into the Madeleine pans. I didn't do that today and the batter was very thick and cold-I had to use every muscle to squeeze the pastry bag !  Time for another cup of espresso, Bon Appetit .

You can buy the book here :

Chocolate with Francois-Chocolate Dacquoises with Lavender and Peaches and Chocolate Chiboust

I'm pleading temporary insanity for choosing this recipe for my Chocolate with Francois Group !! My over achieving evil twin possessed me in a moment of weakness as I was leafing through the book Chocolate Epiphany and picked a recipe that has more ingredients than most cookbooks ! Try saying the recipe name 5 times fast-it's exhausting !  But it sounded so lovely and I had visions of summer peaches and freshly picked lavender-my senses were overloaded with beautiful images and aromas.  It was sensory overload.. so to get my group started here it is:

Chocolate Dacquoises with Lavender and Peaches and Chocolate Chiboust

You know you are in trouble when you have to Google the recipe name to figure out what you are making !  Seriously, I love to bake and create things I've never done before so here we go with the August recipe.
If you have never made a dacquoise here are some Images of dacquoises to give you an idea of what your finished product should or could look like.  And the same goes for the Chocolate Chiboust-hear are some Images for Chiboust to compare to your finished dessert.  And perfect timing, one of my favorite chefs, Chef Eddy Van Damme created a beautiful chocolate chiboust this month, go to his blog to check it out.  It's a work of art !
I've gathered the lavender from my garden; purchased my favorite Frog Hollow Farm peaches and now I'm setting up my mise en place.  Also , based on my experience with Chef Francois Payard's recipes, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will not be the dacquoise or chiboust that ate Seattle !

Youtube video on making a chocolate chiboust

Chocolate Dacquoise

3/4 cup (75 grams) almond flour or finely ground blanched almonds

1/2 cup (65 grams) confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons (15grams) Dutch processed cocoa powder

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar

5 large egg whites

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to the dimensions of your baking sheet With a pencil or pen trace eight 3 1/2 inch circles on the parchment.  Place the paper on the baking sheet, circles facing down so that you don't get any ink or lead on your dacquoise.

Sift the almond flour,confectioners' sugar,cocoa powder together over a bowl or piece of wax paper.  Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and whip on medium speed until the egg whites start to gain volume.  Add the granulated sugar to the eggs a little at a time, and continue whipping until the eggs hold stiff peaks.  With a spatula, gently fold in the almond flour, confectioner's sugar, and cocoa powder.  Be careful not to over mix, as you want the eggs to retain as much volume as possible.

Fit the pastry bag with  1/4 inch round pastry tip and then fill the bag with the meringue.  Using the drawn circles as your guide, start from the center of the circle and pipe the meringue in a spiral pattern to make a disk.  There should be no gap between the concentric lines of the spiral.   On top of the outside edge of each disk, pipe 1/4 inch balls of meringue, to create a meringue border.  This ensures that the peaches will be cradled when the dessert is assembled. For some reason I chose not to pipe the little meringue balls next to each other and left some spacing-again temporary insanity on my part !

Place the baking sheet in the oven, and immediately turn it off.  Leave the dacquoise in the over for 1 to 2 hours, checking occasionally until they are dried and crisp.  Really watch this,with the weather in Seattle I had to turn the oven back on and bake them for about 10-12 minutes, then I turned the oven off and let them set in the oven for another 2 hours until they were crisp.  When they are finished turn the parchment paper over and carefully pull it to remove the dacquoises.  Store them in an airtight container , up to 2 days.

Chocolate Chiboust

3 tablespoons (45 grams) cold water

1 tablespoon (1 envelope, 5 grams) unflavored gelatin

1 cup (240 grams) whole milk

1 1/2 ounces (45 grams) 100% chocolate, chopped

4 large egg yolks

4 teaspoons  (10grams) cornstarch

6 tablespoons ( 80 grams) sugar

2 large egg whites

Make the chiboust

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (see my notes below for how I froze my chiboust)

Pour the cold water in a small bowl.  Sprinkle the gelatin over the water, and let stand for 3 minutes.

Bring the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Remove from the heat, and stir in the chocolate until completely melted.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the yolks and the cornstarch until the mixture turns a pale yellow.  Slowly pour a third  of the milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to keep the yolks from curdling.  Once the milk is well incorporated, return the mixture to the saucepan over medium heat, and cook,whisking constantly, until it becomes very thick and bubbles start popping from the center of the pan, about 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatin until well combined. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed against the pastry cream .

With a candy thermometer close by, place the sugar and 2 tablespoons ( 30 grams) water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook until the mixture reaches 242F on the candy thermometer-keep an eye on this and when it gets to 235 you need to start whipping your egg whites. If the sugar sticks to the sides of the pot, dip a pastry brush in water and brush the sides down.  You may need to tilt the pan to get an accurate temperature reading.

While the sugar is cooking, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.  When the sugar reaches 235 F on the candy thermometer, start whipping the whites on high speed until they hold stiff peaks. Continue cooking the sugar until it reaches 242 F, then with the mixer running, pour it into the egg whites in a slow stream,down the inside of the bowl.  Continue beating until the meringue is thick and the bottom of the bowl is cool to touch-about 5-8 minutes.

Fold the meringue into the pastry cream.   Pour the mixture in a 1/2 thick layer in the prepared baking sheet and place it in the freezer to set , about 1 hour-or see the notes below.

If you have frozen your chiboust in the 1/2 thick layer then cut it into eight 3 inch circles either using a knife or a 3 inch round cookie cutter.  Leave them in the freezer until ready to use or for up to 3 months tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.

Notes for freezing chiboust

His recipe calls for pouring, spreading and freezing the chiboust in a baking pan in the freezer.  I thought I would be wasting too much chiboust that way and my freezer compartment would never take a regular size baking pan.  So instead I took my 3 inch pastry rings and filled them with the chiboust.  I used the #30 ice cream scoop and it took about 2 1/2 of them to get the chiboust to the depth called for.  The chiboust is firm enough to hold it's shape so that once the pastry rings were filled I gently removed them before freezing-and voile no waste and frozen chiboust !

Poached Peaches

Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon

1 1/4 cups (250 grams) sugar

2 sprigs fresh or dried lavender

1 vanilla bean, split or 2 tablespoons ( 30 grams) pure vanilla extract

6 peaches, peeled and halved

Make the peaches

Combine the lemon juice, zest,sugar, and lavender with 1 quart (1 liter) water in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the pan, and add the pod if using.  Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add the peaches and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and simmer for 5 or 6 minutes, until the peaches are tender when pierced with a fork.

Remove from the heat, and if using the vanilla extract, add it now.  Let the peaches cool in their liquid, still covered. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 3 days.

Assemble the dessert -Finally !

Pull a few pieces of lavender off the stems (more or less depending on your taste for lavender). Cut the peaches in chunks about 1/4 inch large, and mix them with the lavender. 

Remove the chiboust disks from the freezer.

Place a dacquoise in the center of each of eight plates.  Spoon some peaches in the center cavity of each dacquoise.  Cover with a chiboust disk. If desired sprinkle an even layer of granulated sugar over the top of the chiboust,and carmelize it with a blowtorch.  Drizzle chocolate around the plate and voila !

CHOCOLATE DACQUOISES WITH LAVENDER PEACHES & CHOCOLATE CHIBOUST